


And the Bad Dreams Lead Me to Calling You

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 17:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2436914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I insist that you sleep in my bed.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	And the Bad Dreams Lead Me to Calling You

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to **[_The One Where Hotch is in Pajamas_](http://community.livejournal.com/lairofthemuses/19674.html#cutid1)**. I don’t know why but this popped in my mind on the way to work this morning so I wrote it. The title is from the Rilo Kiley song, _Portion for Foxes_ …it seems to fit them so well.

She found _Bloodwork_ on one of the cable channels. Emily was a sucker for a Clint Eastwood film and a fan of Michael Connelly’s novels. It was quarter after four in the morning and she rested on Hotch’s slightly comfortable couch with a large mug of coffee. Tired crept around the base of her skull but Emily ignored it like she always did. She’d just been running in place a few minutes before she found the movie...wanted to keep her endorphins up. 

 

As she watched the movie and drank her coffee, Emily kept looking over at Hotch’s bedroom. She could see his bed from her spot on the couch. He looked to be sound asleep, tossing and turning but asleep. She was sure he didn’t dream about rainbows and unicorns these days. Emily was well acquainted with nightmares and the toll they could take.  

 

Hotch had all the telltale signs; circles under his bloodshot eyes, hyper vigilance, and delayed reaction time. Something had to give soon…this was a situation when hitting rock bottom was going to be the only way to rise again. She glanced over once more and saw he was still tossing and turning. Emily began to stand, knew she needed to check on him. Suddenly Hotch sat straight up in bed.

 

“Jack! Jack!”

 

“Hotch!” Emily ran to the bedroom, bumping the coffee table. Her cup of coffee tumbled onto the carpet.

 

“Jack! Give me my son!”

 

She grabbed hold of him; he tried to push her away.

 

“Get the hell off of me!” he screamed. “Jack!”

 

“Hotch, its Emily,” she grabbed him around the stomach, pinning both arms to his body so he wouldn’t lash out and hurt her. “You need to wake up…it’s just a nightmare.”

 

He still fought against her hold and was pretty strong. He and Emily both slammed against the headboard as he hollered for Jack. Emily grimaced, ignoring the pain.

 

“Hotch, it’s a nightmare; you need to wake up now. Aaron, please.”

 

As quickly as it began, it was over. Hotch stopped thrashing against her. His heart beat wildly and the most agonizing sound came from his diaphragm. Emily let his arms go as he sobbed; they wrapped tightly around her. She wasn’t sure if he was asleep or awake but it didn’t matter. She held him close, stroking his hair.

 

“I'm here, Aaron. I'm here and you don’t have to be alone. It’s going to be alright.”

 

He snuggled against her breast and held on tight. Eventually the sobs, which sounded painful, slowed down. For a few moments it sounded like he was hyperventilating but then there was silence. Hotch’s body relaxed, his heartbeat slowing to normal. Emily held on a while longer. 

 

When his breathing was calm she finally laid him back on the bed. Hotch stirred but didn’t wake up. She left him alone, going to the kitchen for something to clean up the coffee. The tired that had been teasing her was completely gone. It was surely an illusion but for now Emily would take it.

 

***

 

“Good morning.”

 

Emily couldn’t help but smile when she saw Hotch the next morning. She definitely liked the scruffy look on him.

 

“Hey there. I made coffee but then I remembered that you preferred tea. I’ll put the kettle on now.”

 

“I can do it.” Hotch replied.

 

“Its OK, I got it.” Emily tinkered around at the sink with the tea kettle. “I'm already here. Are you hungry?”

 

“Starving. I don’t…there’s not a lot of food here.”

 

“I thought we’d go out, if you're up to it. Georgetown Diner has the neverending pancake plate on Saturdays.”

 

“Well…” he faltered a bit.

 

“Hotch, you're going to have to get over my being here. I want you to do the same things you would do every weekend.”

 

“I would normally be with Jack.”

 

“OK, open mouth and insert foot. It’s a Prentiss thing.”

 

“No it’s not, and it’s fine. When I don’t have Jack I just go to Quantico and…”

 

“Yeah, get that out of your mind.” Emily replied. “You need to relax.”

 

“I'm fine, Prentiss.”

 

“I know. You’ll be even better after we go out and get some breakfast.”

 

Hotch sighed but nodded.

 

“How much sleep did you get last night?” he asked, attempting to regain some of the control he felt like he was losing.

 

“Now it’s my turn to say I'm fine.”

 

“You cannot stay awake for three days. I know you're badass but I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone.”

 

“You just called me badass.” Emily smiled.

 

“Yeah, I did.”

 

“Hotch, I'm fine. When we come back from breakfast, I’ll get a few winks, I promise.”

 

“I insist that you sleep in my bed.” Hotch replied.

 

“Wow Aaron, you haven’t even kissed me yet.”

 

“I’ll take a shower and then we’ll go.” Hotch smiled. “You can use the other bathroom for all of your needs.”

 

Emily nodded. She told him she would leave his tea on the nightstand and that he had fifteen minutes before she started knocking. Hotch clicked his heels together like a soldier before walking away. He was back in less than a minute.

 

“Prentiss?”

 

“Hmm?” she added a little sugar to her coffee. Hotch didn't have any Splenda.

 

“I need to thank you.”

 

“I told you that you don’t. I'm not doing this for thanks. I'm doing this because I care about you and it’s the right thing to do.”

 

“I'm talking about last night, well actually really early this morning.”

 

“You remember what happened?” Emily finally turned to look at him.

 

“I've been cursed with remembering everything.”

 

“I know that feeling.” Emily murmured.

 

“Anyway, thank you, and I apologize if I frightened you.”

 

“I'm well acquainted with nightmares.”

 

Hotch nodded, turning to walk away again. This time he only made it a few steps before returning. Taking a deep breath, he approached her. He put his hands on her shoulders, closed his eyes, and kissed her forehead.

 

“Now you can nap in my bed later.” He whispered.

 

“Get in the shower, Hotch.”

 

“Yes, ma'am.”

 

He walked into the bedroom and Emily stood motionless in the tiny kitchen. The whistling teakettle brought her out of her daze. As she made Hotch a glass of tea, Emily mentally moved boxes around in her head and returned to full FBI Agent mode. There would be other moments, other three day weekends. She would never lose hope of that.

 

In the shower Hotch couldn’t help but smile. It had been so long since he’d done it that it felt foreign. Maybe kissing Emily wasn’t the most appropriate thing to do but it felt natural. It felt good to be held last night, to get the poison out and not to have to feel uncomfortable afterward. Something in him knew that something in her would understand. It might be time for them to stop ignoring that something.

 

“Hey,” Emily knocked on the door.

 

“I'm almost done.”

 

“I'm just going to stand out here until the water goes off.”

 

Hotch reached down and turned the water off.

 

“OK, Prentiss, I'm out of the shower.”

 

“And I'm leaving your bedroom now.”

  
“Thank you.” Hotch smiled behind the door. It was going to be a long three day weekend; better to make the best of it. The other agents hadn’t been this close. He wasn’t used to this kind of attention. At least it was coming with pancakes, and Prentiss. Hotch thought he could get used to that.

 

***

                                                                                                                             

  
 


End file.
